


What Makes You Special

by shirosquared



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Flowers, M/M, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Sheith Birthday Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-22 01:18:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12470268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirosquared/pseuds/shirosquared
Summary: Keith thought this customer would be like the same ones that he had as regulars. He was wrong, but not in the way he thought.The bell on the door chimed softly as the door opened, and Keith turned to face the new customer with a smile on his face. “Good morning, welcome to Voltron Floral, my name is Keith, how can I help you?” he asked in his customary greeting.





	What Makes You Special

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for the [Sheith Birthday Exchange](https://vldexchange.tumblr.com)! My giftee was [exaketededly](https://exaketededly.tumblr.com/), I hope you enjoy it! I wanted to include a bit more of the college theme than I did, but it didn't quite work out, so here's a florist AU with college in the background.

Keith carefully rearranged the vases on the shelf. Another day of working with customers, trying to fit their needs. There were always a few difficult customers, but that didn't make him enjoy it any less. If anything, it made him happier, the satisfaction of completing another order strangely therapeutic.

The bell on the door chimed softly as the door opened, and Keith turned to face the new customer with a smile on his face. “Good morning, welcome to Voltron Floral, my name is Keith, how can I help you?” he asked in his customary greeting.

Then he got a good look at the person that just entered the door. He was a few inches taller than Keith, his white (Keith assumed it was bleached) hair falling in his face. The white bangs were the longest part, the rest of it black and styled into an undercut. A thick scar ran across the bridge of his nose, ending beneath his eyes. Keith thought it made the man both intimidating and attractive.

The man smiled, holding out his left hand, which Keith thought was a bit strange. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Keith. You can call me Shiro, it's a bit less of a mouthful than my full name.” 

Keith took Shiro’s hand, shaking it. “Nice to meet you. Is there anything in particular you're looking for?”

“Oh!” Shiro quickly let go of Keith’s hand. “Uh, right. I was looking for a bouquet, actually. Lance told me about this place… he told me to say that.”

“Lance Espinosa?” Keith asked. “He’s one of my friends, yeah. What kind of bouquet are you looking for? Is it graduation season yet?”

Shiro shook his head. “Not yet, no. A few more weeks. Still April, unfortunately.”

Keith laughed. “Are you a college student?” He never went to college, himself, preferring to just take care of the shop. He was doing well with it, so he never pursued anything after high school.

“Yeah, I’m a senior.” Shiro glanced around at the different options. “My friend’s birthday is coming up, and I had no idea of what to get her. I've never been great at the whole gift picking thing. So, Lance suggested flowers.”

“Oh, really? What’s your major?” Keith asked.

“Astrophysics,” Shiro said proudly. “I’ve always wanted to work for NASA… I hope they’ll still accept me, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Keith looked at Shiro again, trying to figure out a reason why. Then, he caught sight of the metal prosthetic that he’d completely missed until now. Shiro was wearing long sleeves that covered most of it, so only the hand was visible. “Oh. Well, it still works, doesn’t it? And I’m sure you’re smart, you’ll get it.”

“You think that?” Shiro asked.

“I  _ know _ that,” Keith answered confidently.

“You don’t even know me that well,” Shiro frowned.

“No, but if NASA doesn’t accept you because of your arm then they don’t deserve you.” Keith watched Shiro’s expression change from bewilderment to wonder.

“Right… yeah, you’re right,” Shiro agreed, smiling.

“So, what’s she like?” Keith asked. “Are you close?”

“Who?” Shiro asked blankly, having been effectively sidetracked.

“Your friend,” Keith clarified. “You know, the one you’re getting the bouquet for?”

Shiro nodded, a strange emotion in his eyes. “Yeah. She's one of my best friends. We’re not  _ together _ , if that's what you're asking. She's someone who likes pink and sparkles but could still kick my ass if she wanted to.”

Keith chuckled. “Not roses, then. She sounds fun to hang around with. Do you know what kind of flowers she likes?”

Shiro shook his head. “I don't know what they're called, but she likes those pink ones. They've got like, three or four petals, and a little thing sticking out of the middle—”

“I think I know what you're talking about,” Keith said. “Would you recognize it if you saw it?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Shiro answered.

Keith hesitated for a moment before opening the door to the back. “Here, it’ll be easier to see what you're looking for while they're still in the ground.”

Shiro followed him through the door, looking around the medium-sized area. Flowers of different colors were everywhere, sorted by type with a subsystem of colors. It was beautiful, and Shiro turned to tell Keith that only to see the back of his head a few feet away.

Keith stood, turning to face Shiro. “Are these it? They've just started blooming in the last few days.”

Shiro leaned down, looking closely. “Yeah, that's it. There are different colors of…” he glanced at the sign, trying to remember the name, “lilies?”

“Yeah, a few. Pink, blue, white, yellow, and purple are all I’ve got right now. The blue is pretty dark, but the rest are lighter. What other colors does she like?” Keith asked.

Shiro seemed to consider it for a moment. “I don't know, what's your favorite?”

Keith tilted his head. “My favorite? I'd say the purple ones, but if you want to know my favorite flower overall it’d be a carnation.”

“Can you show me those?” Shiro asked. Keith was confused by the sudden turnaround, but nodded nonetheless.

“Yeah, of course. They come in a bunch of different colors.” He showed Shiro the patch, hearing him take a deep breath.

“How about… the red ones? And the purple lilies.” Shiro sounded almost anxious. He chuckled quietly. “I trust your opinion.”

“You trust—” Keith shook his head. “Alright. The red carnations and the purple lilies. What size?”

“Medium?” Shiro guessed. “Do you do small medium large, or is it like, by inches?”

“Medium is fine,” Keith responded. He scribbled down the order on a small paper pad. “It comes with a card, do you want something written on it?” He looked up at Shiro, letting his eyes linger for a moment.

“Uh, how about— _ I think you're cute, and I want to ask you out but don’t know how _ ?” Shiro looked nervous, now.

Keith tilted his head. “You like her?” He had to admit, he was disappointed. All the attractive guys tended to be straight or taken.

Shiro hesitated before answering. “Not exactly. It’s not her that I like. Not even a  _ her _ , really—”

Keith stared at him. “But you said it was for your friend, the one who could take you in a fight.”

“Would you be mad if I said I lied?”

“No, but I don’t… understand why you’d lie. I mean, it’s a lot easier to make an arrangement for someone when I’m actually talking about the right person.”

Shiro chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I know, I just—I’ve kinda thought you were attractive for a while now and I wasn’t sure how to approach you so I kinda… used the whole flower thing to get an excuse to talk to you. My friend’s birthday really  _ is _ coming up, but… I’ve already picked out her present. The bouquet was supposed to be for you.”

Keith dropped the pad. He stared, frozen, at Shiro. How the hell was he supposed to react to that? “That’s… forward,” he said after a moment.

“Was it too much?” Shiro asked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you—”

Keith’s hands shot out, grabbing Shiro’s vest. Shiro let out a surprised squeak, but didn’t stop Keith as he pressed their lips together. It was short but sweet, and when Keith pulled away he raised an eyebrow. “Were you gonna try and serenade me or something?”

“Maybe?” Shiro’s face was flushed a light pink. “I’m sorry if it was too much.”

“Let’s just… do us both a favor, and not do it again?” Keith looked into Shiro’s grey eyes. “I like you better when you’re being you, and you don’t know shit about flowers.” Shiro actually laughed at that, and Keith pressed their lips together again.

Keith ended up giving Shiro the bouquet anyway, where it stood in Shiro’s dorm room until the flowers died. Though the flowers ended up dying, their love for each other only grew.

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed writing this fic, it's been a while since I actually posted anything so this was fun to get out there.
> 
> It wasn't specified in the fic as to how Shiro got his post-Kerberos appearance when he didn't go to Kerberos, but I was envisioning it as a bad car accident. If you had another view, great! But this is what I was thinking, and I wanted Keith to ask but it didn't fit in with the conversation.
> 
> Also, Keith and Shiro have seen each other before the events in this fic. Keith doesn't recognize Shiro because he was never really looking at people enough to remember them, but Keith has seen Shiro enough to think he's attractive.


End file.
